Perez Still Hoping to Catch On

Jim Tracy was being coy, though not entirely reserved.

The Dodger manager, perhaps a bit emboldened by the team’s gain of three games in the standings on its six-game trip, had been asked whether there was one specific position that could be improved by the July 31 trading deadline.

“I only have to look out the corner of my left eye to see it,” Tracy said with a smile, though he would not be more specific.

It seemed he was talking about third base or left field. But if had Tracy been looking at left field during batting practice, he surely would have winced rather than grinned.

Career infielders Antonio Perez and Mike Edwards were struggling mightily to catch fly balls hit by first-base coach John Shelby.

The presence of Perez in left was particularly intriguing, in light of his struggles in the infield but competency at the plate.

“It will be no time soon; he’s not ready yet,” said Shelby, who has been hitting fly balls to Perez for the last week, for 10 minutes a session.

“He can’t just catch a few fly balls, because he knows I’m hitting them to him. It’s completely different from someone else hitting them [in a game].

“So if he’s missing balls when I’m hitting them, you know he’s not ready.... It’s a work in progress. I’m sure he can make it.”

Perez has been unable to find a position -- he’s played second base, third base and shortstop -- and an everyday spot in the lineup, even though he is batting .326 in 57 games.

Even Angel pitcher Paul Byrd praised Perez’s hitting during interleague play.

“I’m working hard, looking for that opportunity,” Perez said. “I don’t know. I just have to keep working hard, I guess. It’s up to the manager.”

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Tracy says he will also work Jose Valentin, who’s recovering from torn knee ligaments, in the outfield when he returns from his rehabilitation assignment at triple-A Las Vegas.

“He has had five hits in his last two games and played third base [Monday] and ... [ran] from first to home,” Tracy said.

“There have been no repercussions with the knee. None.”

The soreness in Valentin’s right elbow also has subsided, Tracy said.

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J.D. Drew has had the cast removed from his broken left wrist, and the outfielder, who was hit by a pitch on July 3, is wearing a splint.... Milton Bradley, who suffered from cramps in his left calf and hamstring in his first two games after returning from the disabled list, did not start but was available to pinch-hit. He will start tonight, Tracy said.